Nanophase Glass-Ceramics

Future applications for glass-ceramics are likely to capitalize on designed-in, highly specialized properties for the transmission, display, and storage of information. Glass-ceramics with microstructures comprised of uniformly dispersed crystals <100 nm in size offer promise for many potential new applications as well as provide unique attributes for many current products. This paper focuses on two types of nanocrystalline glass-ceramics: transparent glass-ceramics and tough, high-modulus glass-ceramics with precisely engineered surfaces. Transparent glass-ceramics are formed from certain aluminosilicate glasses capable of efficient crystal nucleation and slow growth. The key crystalline phases include β-quartz solid solutions, characterized by low-thermal-expansion behavior; spinel, with high hardness and elastic modulus; and mullite, which shows unique chromium-luminescence behavior.